After years of warnings on climate change, small island states implore the great nations to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C produced compared to the average temperature of the pre-industrial era.
The “last chance summit”
Meeting in Papua New Guinea for the Pacific Islands Forum, the 16 leaders of the Pacific Island States want to make their voices heard at the COP21 in Paris in December. For these states victims of global warming that pollute very little, this is the “last chance summit to reverse the process of climate change.”
Part of the population of the Kiribati displaced
“We reached a final frontier, and if one crosses, the whole world will suffer serious problems”, said Anote Tong, President of the Republic of Kiribati. In this set of three islands located in the northwest of Tahiti, part of the population has been displaced, and another will be soon.
Palau hit by weather disasters
Even concern Palau, an archipelago north of Indonesia. It was already affected by rising sea levels and coral bleaching, which disrupts the entire underwater ecosystem. “And over the past three years, we had two super typhoons that passed on Palau, and the Philippines, and that’s the reality that confronts and challenges every day, it’s really became a matter of survival for us,” worries the president, Tommy E. Remengesau.
Tuvalu crops affected by sea flood
In Tuvalu, it is mainly the flooding of crops by the ocean water that are destroying the way of life and cause health problems. His prime minister, Enele Sosene Sopoaga, wants the islands to lead example to polluters, “there is a real commitment on the part of small island states that do not contribute at all to their greenhouse gas emissions but who are already affected: they are moving towards renewable energy, because it helps to save their lives, to save people, to save their peoples.”
